Tigers best Gators at home, move to 10-1 record

The DePauw University women's basketball team moved to 10-1 Friday when it beat conference rival Allegheny 98-63. It was strong play throughout as the Gators were simply outmatched by the team play and shot making that the Tigers displayed.

"Allegheny is a really good team," DePauw coach Kris Huffman said. "I thought we had a great team effort both defensively and on the glass. I thought our offense got better in the second half. That's where we share the ball really well."

If the second half merited better offense for the Tigers then Allegheny didn't stand a chance. Seven minutes into the first quarter DePauw held a 17-point lead due to its great play.

Freshman Kylie Morris and sophomore Taylor Howard each only missed a few shots in the lopsided game, going 5-7 and 5-6 respectively, gaining 10 points each. Senior Tiger Hannah Lukemeyer went a perfect 5-5 from the field also securing 10 points.

This sort of team play with contributors from all over the court has led to the great season record of 10-1 that DePauw hopes to build on.

"I think it's fortunate that we have that senior leadership in the guard court so we've got strong guard play," Huffman said. "We've got great depth. Our efforts defensively and rebounding have been consistent. We need to get better, but we've been consistent and that is an important thing for us."

The rebounding was due in part to senior Hannah Duglas who gathered 10 total rebounds leading her team. The winning atmosphere has also got the Tiger players motivated as the season wears on.

"It's very exciting," leading scorer Savannah Trees said. She scored 19 points with key buckets to help secure the win. "We lost a lot of good players last year so it is kind of a fresh start. So it's very exciting the start that we've had so far."

Though the play of the underclassmen has helped the team to its stellar opening record, the senior play seems to be the core propelling the team forward in its goal of returning to the NCAA final.

"I think the seniors really work well together and that will carry over to the rest of the team. So it is great," Trees said.

Huffman is excited to see her seniors reap the benefits of the work that has been put in over the years.

"They have worked so hard," Huffman said. "It's nice to see them get the payoff and be the leaders on our team this year."

DePauw is back in action Saturday in a home game against Hiram at 2 p.m.

At DePauw

DePauw -- 40-72 FG, 6-17 3-FG, 12-14 FT -- Trees 9-13 10 pts, 2 asst, 4 reb; Douglas 5-12 16 pts, 10 reb, 4 asst; Lukemeyer 5-5 10 pts, 3 reb, 1 stl; Howard 5-6 10 pts, 4 reb, 1 blk, 1 stl; Frenke 5-7 10 pts, 3 reb, Ondik 3-6 9 pts, 3 reb, 4 asst, 1 stl; Abendroth 2-7 8 pts, 3 reb, 1 asst, 1 stl; Keller 2-4 6 pts, 7 rebs, 1 asst; Gaumer 0-1 2 pts; Stoner 1-3 2 pts, 1 asst, 1 stl; Skordos 1-1 2 pts, 2 reb 1 asst, 1 stl; Budde 1-4 2 pts, 3 stl; Gardner 2 reb; Denhart 2 reb; Conners 1 reb, Ryan 1 reb

,b>Team Stats

Rebounding (Off)

Allegheny 23 DePauw 44

Assists

Allegheny 12 DePauw 18

Steals

Allegheny 4 DePAuw 9

Blocks

Allegheny 1 DePauw 1

Turnover

Allegheny 16 DePAuw 8

Fouls

Allegheny 14 DePauw 14